Bonded labour is a critical and widespread labour rights issue in Pakistan. The United Nations Global Compact defines ‘bonded labour, or debt bondage’ as an ancient practice still used in some countries where both adults and children are obliged to work in slave-like conditions to repay debts of their own or their parents or relatives. Bonded labourers are often made subject to physical and sexual abuse, as well as forced confinement. Despite various efforts aimed at addressing bonded labour, the current legal and administrative frameworks in Pakistan have failed to eradicate bonded labour from the country. This article contends that a comprehensive set of measures is imperative to eradicate bonded labour from Pakistan.
The reasons for the persistence of bonded labour in Pakistan
Pakistan ranks 18th globally and 4th within Asia and the Pacific on the Global Slavery Index’s Prevalence Index Rank. According to this Index, there are 2.3 million bonded labourers in Pakistan. Bonded labour is most prevalent in the agriculture, brick kiln, carpet weaving and mining industries. The primary reason that compels labourers into bondage is poverty. The lack of social safety and security nets to counter poverty has led people to accept loans and end up in the debt trap. The predicament has been further aggravated by the 2022 floods, inflicting around USD 30 billion in damages to Pakistan’s economy and depriving millions of their livelihoods. Given the instability of the economy, financial institutions seldom provide formal credit facilities or loans without the presence of collateral and appropriate documentation, particularly when the prospect of recovering the principal is low. This is further exacerbated by the judicial system being deficient in enforcing credit contracts.
Individuals subjected to bonded labour encounter significant obstacles when seeking legal remedies, both within the criminal justice system and through labour departments. The failure of the government and the judiciary to effectively implement laws against the perpetrators has allowed them to act with impunity. Ultimately, the susceptibility of the labourers intensifies when they fail to unite as a cohesive group.
In Pakistan’s formal economy, the fragmented trade union movement is already grappling with establishing effective bargaining models for industrial relations, where labour and management can negotiate contractual frameworks. The many reasons for this include the politicisation of trade unions where political parties have their own labour wings in the public sector and industries; the growing informality in employment which has promoted contract labour and outsourcing; the formation of pocket unions; and a lack of institutional support from the government. The further pronounced absence of collective bargaining in the informal economy denies labourers any possibility of presenting their views and needs. Together, all of these factors facilitate the perpetuation of bonded labour as a system.
International law
Bonded labour is a form of ‘modern slavery’, which is strictly prohibited under international law. The Slavery Convention, 1926 adopted by the League of Nations was the first and one of the most important conventions in calling its signatories to ‘prevent and suppress the slave trade’ (Article 2(1)) and ‘bring about progressively and as soon as possible, the complete abolition of slavery in all its forms’ (Article 2(2)). The Slavery Convention was then adopted by the United Nations in 1953. The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, Slave Trade and Institution Similar to Slavery, 1956, was the first international treaty that provided an authoritative definition of bonded labour or debt bondage. The definition reads:
Debt bondage, that is to say, the status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined (Article 1(a)).
A notable feature of the Supplementary Convention is that Article 7(b) characterises debt bondage as a ‘servile status’ and obliges the state parties to take appropriate action to curb the problem. Under general international human rights conventions, Article 8 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 states that, ‘No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave trade in all their forms shall be prohibited. No one shall be held in servitude’.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), which is particularly aimed at promoting labour rights, has played an equally important role in the eradication of bonded labour. The ILO passed the Forced Labour Convention (No.29) in 1930. Article 1 of the Convention calls its signatories to ‘suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms in the shortest period possible’. The definition of forced labour was further clarified by ILO by specifically incorporating debt bondage and serfdom in the preamble to the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No.105). Pakistan is a signatory to both of these conventions and is consequently obligated under international law to take effective measures to eradicate bonded labour and uphold fundamental principles of human rights and labour standards.
National Law
Article 11 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, prohibits slavery and forced labour. Under Article 11(1), ‘Slavery is non-existent and forbidden and no law shall permit or facilitate its introduction to Pakistan in any form.’ Under Article 11(2), ‘All forms of forced labour and traffic in human beings are prohibited.’ Article 11(3) states that ‘No child below the age of 14 years shall be engaged in any factory or mine or any other hazardous employment’.
However, it was not until the seminal case of Darshan Masih v The State (PLD 1990 SC 513) that the Supreme Court outlawed the practice of bonded labour as a violation of Article 11(2) of the Constitution. The judgment laid the groundwork for the enactment of the Bonded Labour (Abolition) System Act, 1992. The Act is hailed as a landmark legislation addressing bonded labour.
The Act punishes the institution of bonded labour under section 4, outlawing the practice of bonded labour in its entirety. Additionally, section 6(3) terminates bonded labourers’ past debts, and section 8(2) imposes penalties on those engaged in the practice of bonded labour. Section 15 calls upon the Government to establish Vigilance Committees at the district level. These consist of elected representatives from the area, the district administration, bar associations, the press and recognised social services, and Labour Departments of the Federal and Provincial governments. The purpose of the Committees is to advise district administration on matters relating to the effective implementation of the law.
The Act was followed by the promulgation of the Bonded Labour (Abolition) System Rules, 1995. Rule 4 outlines the powers and duties of the District Magistrate for implementing the provisions of the Act. This includes the power to inspect any premises or workplace in his/her jurisdiction where he/she has a reason to believe that bonded labour is being enforced. However, a recent report by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) highlighted the concerning non-functionality of these Vigilance Committees in numerous districts across Pakistan. This underscores the challenges that have hindered the success of the Act in eradicating bonded labour from the country.
The 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan devolved the power from the centre to the provinces, enabling them to enact their own legislations on labour rights issues. Therefore, the Sindh Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 2015, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 2015, the Punjab Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992 (Amendment 2012) and the Gilgit-Baltistan Bonded/Forced Labour System (Abolition) Act 2020 were enacted to counter bonded labour on provincial levels. Despite the provincial statutes prescribing more severe penalties than their federal counterpart, both rely on Vigilance Committees overseen by district administration for implementation. However, the Vigilance Committees lack functionality as no meetings are held and no visits to field are conducted to monitor the situation on the ground. The gravity of the issue becomes apparent when considering that, in Sindh, the number of reported cases of bonded labour surpassed 3,000 in 2020, a stark increase from the 1,700 cases recorded in 2019. This underscores the notion that laws, devoid of proper implementation, hold little significance.
The way forward
The prevalence of bonded labour in the country underscores the imperative need to reassess existing mechanisms. The Government of Pakistan must adhere to the principles, values, and standards outlined in the ILO core labour conventions ratified by the country. Additionally, as an ILO member, Pakistan must show a higher degree of cooperation with the ILO and submit all reports requested by its supervisory organs.
It is also important for the government to enforce national laws promptly. The Provincial Governments must take immediate steps to ensure that Vigilance Committees mandated under the law are functioning effectively. The Provincial Governments should also consider establishing a specialised police force authorised to implement the laws in place. The perpetrators should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for holding workers in bonded labour and for physically or sexually abusing them. The Provincial Government must also prosecute state officials and police officers who fail to enforce the prohibitions on bonded labour, cooperate with employers to keep workers in servitude and/or take punitive measures against labourers seeking legal redress against employers for holding them in bonded labour. Most importantly, the government should consider increasing the penalties for those engaged in the bonded labour system and making the offence non-bailable under certain circumstances, such as those involving repeat offenders, multiple victims or prima facie evidence of violence.
Furthermore, legislation in force on industrial relations must be amended to ensure that all workers enjoy freely and effectively the right to join an independent trade union, to bargain collectively and to strike. Human Rights Watch recommends that the government should (a) redefine what an ‘essential’ economic activity to apply to only strategic or essential areas is, (b) redefine the legal effect of that declaration so that certain worker rights may be restricted, but not the right to join unions. In particular, the government must ensure that bonded labour is prohibited even in areas considered essential. It is essential that the powers of the registrar of the trade unions in industries that have a high percentage of bonded labour be restricted so labourers can exercise their right of association.
There is little doubt that poverty and unemployment serve as the primary factors contributing to the exercise of bonded labour. Consequently, the provision of credit facilities through can be an effective strategy to address this issue. Accessible credit through institutions such as microfinance banks like Akhuwat can serve as the foundation for small business start-ups, offering financial autonomy to bonded families. Simultaneously, the availability of credit diminishes the exploitative leverage that perpetrators wield over labourers trapped in poverty. Nevertheless, it is imperative for the government to offer these credit facilities with lower interest rates and flexible repayment plans.
A longer-term recommendation is one that requires greater quality assurance mechanisms from Pakistan’s major trading partners. Human Rights Watch recommends that the United States and the European Union (EU) should ban the imports of all goods made by bonded labour. It also recommends that they should introduce procedures for conducting spot inspections of sites where bonded labour is perpetrated for the production of goods for export. Additionally, provisions of laws should be invoked to suspend tariff benefits through the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+) program until Pakistan provides verifiable guarantees that bonded labour is being systematically abolished and employers appropriately prosecuted.
Lastly, the Government of Pakistan should engage in cooperative efforts with a wide array of stakeholders dedicated to eradicating bonded labour. This collaboration should encompass government departments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), businesses, civil society, international organisations, donors, as well as specialised agencies of the United Nations and the ILO. Together, these entities can effectively help the Federal and Provincial Governments address and counter the escalating challenge of bonded labour.
Conclusion
Despite the ratification of international conventions and with national laws in place, the issue of bonded labour continues to persist in Pakistan. The primary reason is the weak implementation of the law which allows perpetrators to act with impunity. The observed gap between legal frameworks and their enforcement emphasises the need for a more robust and comprehensive approach to bonded labour. Addressing this challenge requires not only an effective implementation of the law but also collaborative efforts with NGOs and civil society to tackle root causes and enhance the effectiveness of anti-bonded labour initiatives.
Centre for Human Rights (CHR) blog
